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The main garden season has finally arrived in Florida, and here in the northern part of the state, we are already planting our winter crops. Since we have a shorter growing season than Central or South Florida, we plant a lot of our cole crops and leafy greens in August. Yes, I know, it seems it would be too hot, but somehow they survive until it starts cooling a bit in September.

With the unbearable heat and over-abundant rain this summer, it's hard for me to even think about gardening. My purple sweet potatoes are growing well, but my red ones are barely growing. All the ornamentals are out of control, except the brugmansia babies, which I hoped would be a lot larger, but every time I fertilize them, the rain just comes and leaches it all out.

I've tried three times to plant pole beans, but they keep rotting in the soil, so I figure I'll start them in pots indoors and transplant them. So many things that just aren't doing as well as I would like this year, and here it is August already. So here in what you can plant this month. It's our first real planting month of the season, unless you started your tomatoes indoors last month, so have fun!

Vegetables to Plant in August

* last month to plant this vegetable

Beans: bush
& pole

Lima Beans*

Beets

Broccoli

Brussels
Sprouts

Cabbage

Carrots

Cauliflower

Celery

Chinese
Cabbage

Collards

Cucumbers*

Eggplant*

Endive/
Escarole

Kale

Mustard

Onions,
bunching

Peppers*

Summer
Squash

Winter
Squash

Shallots

Tomatoes*

Turnips

If you want to grow lettuces or tender greens, you can grow mico or mini greens, such as those pictured above. Simply sprinkle your seeds in a tray and let them grow to the size you want, then cut or pull them up.

Ornamentals to Plant in August

With the hottest days of summer ahead of us, only a few ornamentals will take the heat.

Vinca

Gaillardia

Bulbine

Coleus

Bulbs to Plant in August

Aztec Lily

Butterfly Lily

Walking Iris

Spider Lily

Herbs to Plant in August

Bay Laurel

Ginger

Mexican Tarragon

Rosemary

August is a hot and miserable month, but as you can see, it's still a good time to get a jump on the fall garden. If you have any questions about growing food here in Gainesville or the surrounding area, post them in the comments.